Tag Archives: Deaver lifts Duke

Flashback to Duke Photo Day where Blue Devil Nation was on hand in late August. Braxton Deaver found a way to get in more of our pictures than any other player. That is just who Deaver is, an extrovert and person that lightens the mood of his teammates. Deaver also competes hard in practice and has become a vital cog in this season's offense.

How does it feel to get a win under your belt?

So good! I was ... at the end of that game, I prayed, I was down on my knee saying come on, we needed a breakthrough and we finally caught that break we needed. We had been so close on all of our breaks and finally one came through for us.

Is there an extra bounce in the step of the players this week coming off a win?

For sure! After winning and getting that feeling of winning we got on the plane and the atmosphere was so much better. The next day everybody was ready. Everybody was ready to work and prepare in order to get that again and losing is not something this program wants. We are not going to accept losing because this team is a bunch of winners.

It had to feel good that this was a road ACC win which have been few and far between for the program in the past.

Looking at the standings in the newspaper the other day, showed that we were at the top of the ACC standings right now in our division It was just so nice to see and I want it to stay that way. I don't want to look and see it like it has been in the past and just say Duke is in last, Duke is in second to last. People always pick us last and you know what? It's time for that to change, it's time for us to step up and be a presence in the ACC and that win gives us more confidence in the ACC as well.

From my vantage you are a team extrovert, maybe even a little hamish if you will. Is that something you feel like is a part of you as a person?

I definitely think so. I line to think my outgoing nature helps to bring a little bit of energy to the team. If I play at a high energy level it's a good thing because people are going to feed off you no matter how you play and if you play at a high tempo and keep everybody up people feed of that energy.

How do you feel about your game this season and how you are playing?

I think that I'm doing pretty well. I think I've made a large leap since last season in terms of blocking and my mental game. I feel I can go into any situation and catch the ball. I feel like my hands are the best they've ever been here and I think my blocking is definitely on the up and that I can be a big factor in this offense for sure.